March design shows that you mustn't miss

Take a day off in the name of creativity and go see these brilliant shows happening this month.

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If you're lacking motivation or in need of a little inspiration, a well presented exhibition can go a long way to relighting your creative spark. But with so many going on, where do you start? To help you out, we've found a number of events, happening this month, that we think are well worth taking a look at.

Later this month, New York-based art gallery Bottleneck will host it's second When the Lights Go Out exhibition. First run last year, this brilliant event celebrate's glow-in-the-dark art from artists all over the world.

In 2013, the exhibit showcased work from a plethora of talented artists while, at the same time, recruited some big names who don't usually ventrue into this kind of artistic territory. And if the artwork produced last year is anything to go by, this is one black light affair that you won't want to miss!

The annual South by South West festival is back in Texas this March, with the latest news in the music and film industries and showcasing cutting-edge technologies and other modern digital innovations.

2014 marks the event's 21st year in operation and features a stellar line up of events and speakers, including conversations with Nicholas Cage and John Faverau, to name a few of Hollywood's finest. The interactive aspect of the conference takes place between 7-11 March, featuring over 800+ confirmed sessions, including a keynote presentation from CEO and co-founder of genetic testing company 23andMe Anne Wojcicki.

Impact Conference is a new one-day event from the makers of Computer Arts about how to achieve excellence and consistency in branding across all formats and market sectors. Taking place at the London Film Museum in South Bank, the event is curated and introduced by independent design writer and consultant Lynda Relph-Knight, former editor of Design Week.

Speakers will include leading branding experts johnson banks founder Michael Johnson and Wolff Olins co-founder Michael Wolff, top creative directors from AKQA, Taxi Studio and many more. If you work in branding, you can't afford to miss this event. And you can now get a further 20% off ticket prices with this promotional code.

The annual festival for music, art and ideas, Future Everything is back again this year, showcasing astonishing artworks, an exciting music programme and host to visionary thinkers from around the world.

Just one year away from it’s 20th anniversary, this year's Future Everything festival features sessions on various exciting subjects, including the new shape of things and how to create a tool. Attendees will also be invited to talks from various industry figures, including writer, critic and curator Justin McGuirk and founder of DSRPTN Digital and Technology Consultancy Emer Coleman.

06. OFFSET

Location: Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin

Showing: 21-23 March

Admission: ¢180, ¢125 (student)

There's just a few weeks to go until Dublin's annual creative festival OFFSET celebrates its 5th anniversary at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre. The three-day event will be host to 24 speakers, all providing a whole heap of inspiration.

If you're on a bit of a budget or can't make it, never fear. The Computer Arts team will be attending and reporting from the festival, bringing you all the news from talks taken by Neville Brody, Jon Burgerman, Jessica Walsh and many more leading industry figures.

Muriel Cooper (1925–94) worked at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for four decades, in overlapping roles as graphic designer, teacher and researcher. During her pathbreaking career, Cooper developed some of the earliest computer interfaces and educated a generation of designers.

Messages and Means: Muriel Cooper at MIT is the first exhibition in 20 years, dedicated to showcasing this influential lady's work and the impact it had on the design world.

Opening tomorrow at the Shaikh Ebrahim centre in Muharraq is a dual exhibition between father and son duo, world renowned artist, Abdulla Al-Muharraqi and digital artist Khalid Al-Muharraqi.

Consiting of many pieces never seen before, the exhibition will also feature a collaborative project between the two artists, which brings th world of traditional and digital art together. The exhibition will mark the inauguration of the Shaikh Ebrahim center’s cultural season of 2014 and will coincide with the Kingdom of Bahrain’s Spring of Culture Festival.

Have we missed any brilliant exhibitions happening this month? Do you have an exhibition you'd like us to mention in April? Let us know in the comments box below!